Technology

From thin air: SA's developing space industry

South Africa’s space industry is a good example of what can be achieved on a small budget in very little time.

16 August 2018

On 18 April 2017, a 59-metre-tall Atlas V rocket rumbled into the sky above Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida. Atop the 335-ton vehicle was Orbital ATK’s unmanned spacecraft Cygnus, which was carrying a varied payload comprising cargo bound for the International Space Station (ISS), and several dozen tiny cube satellites. Two of these hailed from South Africa. They were later released into space in what was another remarkable milestone in the development of the country’s niche space industry.

Unconventional start

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